All posts tagged Le Mans

The DeltaWing, an experimental racing prototype began a round of European testing this week in preparation for competition in the Le Mans 24 Hours race in June. The tests are critical because they will give the racing team an idea of how the unusual car will perform in typical European track conditions.

The car completed track sessions at Snetterton, England, where the weather was mostly rainy. This was ideal in part because the team, with tire supplier Michelin, has to develop wet-weather competition tires for the DeltaWing.

Auction house Bonhams said it will offer a 1929 Bentley that it calls “the most valuable Bentley in the world.” The car, a 1929 4.5-liter supercharged single-seat racer, is said to represent the genesis of a famous line of supercharged or “Blower” Bentleys that included cars that set speed records and competed at Le Mans in the late 1920s and very early 1930s.

The car to be auctioned is expected to fetch more than $6 million, according to auction house estimates. Bonhams said it is a well-known car with documented history since new.

A racing suit worn by the late actor Steve McQueen in the 1971 film “Le Mans” sold for $984,000 during a sale by the Los Angeles auction house Profiles in History. A DeLorean sports car used in the ”Back to the Future” films fetched 541,00 at the same sale.

While the DeLorean’s price may be surprising for a car that has yet to take off with traditional car collectors, the staggering price paid for McQueen’s white suit with orange and blue stripes may be less shocking to people who have followed sales of the actors cars, motorcycles and other personal property.

Collectors crave any association with McQueen, who is sometimes called the King of Cool. After all, he drove racing cars, flew vintage biplanes, raced motorcycles across the desert and did countless other things many people would like to try but never will.

Profiles in History, a Los Angeles dealer and auction house that specializes in original historical autographs, letters, photographs and manuscripts, says it will auction the driving suit the late actor Steve McQueen wore in the 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans. Some motorsport aficionados say Le Mans is the best auto racing movie ever made.

Fans of McQueen, the film or racing in general will recognize the suit by its blue and orange stripes. They represented the Gulf Oil sponsorship of the Porsche 917 racecars that competed in the actual 1970 Le Mans race that served as the film’s backdrop. McQueen drove a similar car in the movie.

There are so many notable cars turning out for the next weekend’s shows, vintage racing and auctions in and around Monterey, Calif., that it can be difficult for one particular vehicle to stand out. But this year, for me anyway, the big attention grabber is a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette painted to look like Old Glory.

RM Auctions is offering a John Greenwood Racing Corvette that has a few things going for it. It is rare — one of three similar cars that made up the famous Greenwood team, it racked up an impressive racing record and even set a GT-class top-speed record of 215 mph at Le Mans. But it is also one of the most recognizable racing sports cars of the early 1970s, especially for people who were car-crazy kids at the time. What youngster wouldn’t be attracted to that wild paint scheme?

The car’s sale will be especially interesting because it could mark a breakout for post-Baby Boom or “Generation X” collectors, as well as for cars from the 1970s, which have been largely unloved in the collector market.

British actor Rowan Atkinson, known for his work in the “Mr. Bean” and “Blackadder” series, is reportedly recovering after crashing his McLaren F1 super sports car, according to numerous reports.

The 56-year-old actor and comedian is a well-known car collector and vintage-racing enthusiast. He was reportedly driving the maroon McLaren F1 when he spun off a wet road and suffered a shoulder injury. Police reported the vehicle crashed late Thursday near Haddon, a village some 85 miles north of London.

The McLaren F1, a cost-no-object supercar, is capable of speeds around 240 miles per hour.

The car has a long triangle or delta shape, with a narrow, pointed nose and a wide, wing-liker rear end. It is designed to be about half the weight of a traditional Le Mans racing car and use about half the horsepower.

Sports-car racing team Highcroft Racing, a longtime competitor in the American Le Mans Series, says it will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France next year.

Jaguar is celebrating the 50th birthday of the vehicle that for many people defines the company: the E-Type sports car. The car, which was ahead of its time when it caused a stir at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, still looks great today. That’s not to say it isn’t dated. Small wire-spoke wheels and skinny tires mark it as a creature of the 1960s, as do its basic interior and minimal, lightweight structure. I can only imagine what would happen to one if subjected to the Insurance Institute’s offset frontal crash test.